


Chirascuro

by SirLadySketch



Series: Reaction Commands -- Post KH3 reaction and fixit fics [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Gen, I just want the girls to be happy, KH3 spoilers, pre-NamiXi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 04:58:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: The mastery of shadows is just another way to study the light.Naminé’s been doing art exercises to better her drawing skills, but nothing seems to be working. A visit from Xion reminds her that sometimes improvement is just a matter of perspective.Post KH3 fic, pre NamiXi





	Chirascuro

**Author's Note:**

> I hesitate to tag this as NamiXi because they don't get beyond light flirting and banter, but it's written with the idea that they'll eventually figure it out and get together. I need to write more of these two!  
> ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION but thank you to [ AutumnPlants ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnplants/pseuds/autumnplants/works?fandom_id=4182) for reading over this for me! <3 <3 <3

There’s something off in the picture again, but she can’t quite put her finger on where she went wrong. Naminé checks her sketch against the little collection of trinkets she’s set up for her study, looking for indiscrepancies in the way the shadows fall against the backdrop. The forms are there, more or less copied by eye, but the picture lacks depth, and she’s fallen back into old habits again, tracing over the lines again and again to round out the shape. The result is overlapping lines that give each object an aura of darkness, as though the objects are sitting in the shadows.

The starkness of white against black makes her long for her crayons, but she’s been doing these exercises for a reason. The world isn’t just black and white, or patches of bright color against white. She’s been trying to master the subtlety of shadows by using a cross-hatching method, but her efforts so far have been less than successful. Too thick, and her forms bleed into the sketchy edges of the outlines. Too thin, and the shapes take on a flat, cartoonish style.

She frowns at the most recent attempt to decide the best approach this time around. Maybe stippling, instead of crosshatch? Or maybe she should switch from pen to pencil? She’s tempted even though that seems like cheating, but a shadow falls across her display before she’s made up her mind on how to start. She looks up, startled, and her vision is filled with Xion’s brilliant grin.

“You’re getting really good at these!” Xion says with so much enthusiasm Naminé can hear the smile in her voice. She flushes with the compliment and looks down at the page to check, but she can’t see it herself, not yet. The pictures are still too hollow for her to consider them _good_ , but maybe she has improved a bit. Maybe just a little.

“You think so? Thank you,” she says. She has to bite her tongue so she doesn’t point out that one of the flowers she was drawing only had five petals instead of six, or that she left out some of the leaves entirely. She’s been trying to get better at that, too-- accepting praise without worrying about what she could be doing better.

“Definitely,” Xion agrees, and settles onto the blanket, smoothing down her skirt as she finds a comfortable position on the castle lawn. “You really caught the way the stems curve and the flowers droop. Oh! And you drew on dew, too, that’s cool!”

“I came out as soon as the rain stopped,” Naminé explains, and hands the sketchbook to Xion so she can see the earlier sketches. “I thought it might be fun to try something a little different.”

“Oh! Speaking of--” Xion says, then reaches into one of her dress’ pockets. “I brought some more stuff for you to draw!” Xion laughs and carefully sets down a bag that clatters as it settles into place. More seashells, probably. Maybe some rocks, too.

Naminé doesn’t ask for things because she doesn’t want to be a bother, but Xion always returns with something new to draw and a story to go with it. It makes Naminé feel like she was there to share in the adventure, and gives more meaning to each and every little gift, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant.

“Thank you!” she says, already untying the bag to see what treasures lie within. Today it’s a crab shell, rough and round and bleached white by the sun. It will be a fascinating shape to draw, and she can already think of other objects to put with it. A thalassa shell from the Islands, a dried coral fan from Atlantica, feathers from the Pridelands… For now, she sets the crab down among the flowers and gives it a loving pat on the head.

“You know, you should really come join us some day,” Xion suggests as she always does. She admires the sketches for a few minutes more before returning the book and flopping back into the grass. She lets out a long, satisfied sigh, and eyes closed, she smiles up at the sun. “The boys wouldn’t mind, and it would be great to hang out with another girl sometime. OR we could borrow a ship and it could just be the two of us!”

“Oh. That sounds like fun,” Naminé agrees, but she’s not sure if she’s ready for those adventures, not yet. Visiting Destiny Islands was refreshing, but it was also tiring. She’s yet to return to Twilight Town or Radiant Gardens -- too many memories, and besides, she has her studies here with Rapunzel. She can’t just _leave_ , run off with Xion to go on an adventure, that would be rude to her hosts. Still, it’s always fun to dream about it.

“Yeah! You should come with me,” Xion continues, then cracks open an eye to wink up at Naminé. “One of these days I’m going to get you to come with me, you know.”

“Maybe,” Naminé laughs, then opens her sketchbook to a new page. She looks down at Xion, fingers fiddling with the sheet and itching for her crayons, but ultimately she picks up the pen and starts to sketch her new subject, trying to get the shape down with the lightest lines possible.

Naminé’s not sure how long they sit there together. She’s lost in the shape and texture of the crab-- definitely stippling this time, to capture the sandpaper rough shell-- when she hears a quiet sigh. She allows a light chuckle to escape; no doubt the quiet’s put Xion to sleep, a habit she’s picked up from Sora. But when she looks to the side she sees Xion watching her with a slight frown.

“Munny for your thoughts?” Naminé asks. Xion quits chewing on the strand of hair and tucks it behind her ear.

“Why don’t you draw people anymore?”

That makes her pause. Naminé takes her pen away from the page before the ink can bleed through, and fusses with switching to a new page. She works on the shadows first, this time, and starts over with long, measured strokes, the lines strong and close together.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea,” she says at last.

“But why?”

“People don’t--” she bites her tongue before she can finish. _People don’t trust me. They remember everything I did._ “People get shy when you ask to draw their portraits,” she says instead. She deliberately adjusts the crab in front of her before she turns to a new page to start over.

Xion frowns, unwilling to let it drop.

“That’s stupid,” she says and stands, taking three short steps to pick up the crab and plop down in its place, stretching out with a grin. She hides the crab behind her back and strikes a pose. “You can draw me! It’s been _ages_ since you’ve tried.”

Naminé drops her pen. The last time she drew Xion, Xion died.

She knows there’s no actual correlation to that drawing-- she hadn’t drawn the image with any malignant intentions, she’d just… drawn it. To remind herself of what she was asking the other girl to give up? To let Xion know that she wouldn’t be forgotten, not completely? It’s been more than a year since she drew it and she still doesn’t know the answer.

She picks up her pen with a frown and dusts off her notebook in irritation. “I wasn’t done that drawing yet,” she says with a little more heat than she’d intended, but Xion seems unfazed. She has the gall to lie down and stretch out like a cat basking in the sun.

“Crabs are more interesting when they’re moving anyway,” she says, then grins in response to Naminé’s continued scowl. “You’d know that if you came with me.”

“I don’t draw people anymore. I don’t want… I don’t want to hurt anyone ever again. I won’t take that risk.”

“I trust you.”

Xion’s still looking at her but the smile has softened into something more tender. Naminé sees forgiveness in that smile, and her heart flutters at the gentle expression on the other girl’s face. She holds her breath, and fervently wishes that she had the ability to capture that look on paper so that she could remember the absolute trust and sincerity of the moment. But somehow, even if she had the ability, she knows she wouldn’t do it justice. She stares instead, trying to commit it to memory.

Then Xion’s eyes crinkle as she smiles again, that obnoxious smile she learned from Axel--Lea--whatever he calls himself.

“Unless you think the crab is prettier than me,” she goads, and Naminé chuckles, the moment passing, but not forgotten.

“The crab stays still long enough for me to draw it,” she replies, and hesitates with her pen hovering over the page. “...you don’t mind?”

Xion laughs and closes her eyes to smile back up at the sun. “Nah. I’ll even do you a favor and take a nap so I don’t move too much.”

“Now I _know_ you’ve been spending too much time with the boys,” Naminé laughs. “You’re turning into a lazybones like Lea.”

“Got it memorized?” Xion asks in a terrible impersonation of the man, and they both collapse into silly giggles until they’re gasping for breath.

Naminé sketches in silence for a bit, making sure that she’s not too heavy on the lines or light on the shadows. It’s not her best work, but it’s recognizable as humanoid-- possibly even recognizable as Xion, if you squint-- and she wonders what if might be like to go on those adventures with Xion by her side.

She might be able to practice her landscapes, or find new textures to study, or colors to blend. She could find something to do while Xion completed a mission, maybe find a nice place to sit and sketch while she waited, although she already knows that once she agrees to tag along, Xion will insist on teaching her how to use a keyblade, too.

Her sketching slows at that thought. Does she _want_ to use a keyblade? She’d never really considered it, never thought she’d ever be worthy of wielding one, and yet…. Xion trusts her. After everything she did, everyone she’s hurt, Xion still makes an effort to see her, to talk and sit with her. It’s humbling, and she cannot imagine what she’s done to earn that trust.

Xion cracks open an eye, apparently more alert than she’d let on. “Done already?”

“If… if I was to say yes, where would we go?” Naminé asks in a quiet voice, but Xion’s up and hugging her in an instant.

“Anywhere you want!” she promises with a laugh. “We could go anywhere you want, see anything you want! There are so many new worlds to explore-- just tell me where you wanna go and we’ll make it happen.”

“I think I’d like that,” Naminé agrees, and laughs as Xion tackles her into a tight hug again. “Not right now,” she clarifies when Xion loosens her hold, “not yet. I still have some lessons with Princess Rapunzel, and I would need to clear it with everyone else….”

“Just say the word and we’re off,” Xion repeats, and gives Naminé one final hug before getting back into her previous pose, stretched out in the sun. This time, however, she’s got a bright grin on her face, and as she draws, Naminé can’t help but think it’s a good look. She hopes she’ll get to draw it again soon-- Xion is a happy reminder that the future can be bright even if you have a dark past, and that there’s more to life than black and white. She’s been studying shadows for far too long, but really, when it all comes down to it, the study of shadows is just another mastery of the Light.


End file.
